Gili Avissar
My practice lies between object-making and performance, using sculpture, installation and video as main tools for uncovering the work's flesh as well as my own. I work in an existential state of nomadism that is key to my practice of creating unfixed environments and situations of temporariness. I perceive these places as places to build, reside in, and finally transform.
I collect and accumulate objects, only to recycle them. This constitutes a relation between materials and movement, as I dismantle and assemble every work to its ingredients, rearranging it in intense and colorful compositions. This so-called recycling of artworks is a never-ending process of layering one work on another, where every work becomes raw material that never expires. The constant interference and transformation are internal to my working process as well to the results, which are temporary.
My motivation is working, not only as a process but more inherently as subject matter. My work at the studio is very laborious, almost like that of a one man factory engaged in mass production. I collect cheap and available materials: remnants of fabric, paper, wood, cardboard and plastic materials. These materials are stitched and assembled into shapes that will later become objects. This laboring lies on the verge of obsession; an excessive creation deriving from fear of being emptied out.
My sculptures and installations are greatly dependent on the exhibition space, as they become an integral part of its architecture. I create most of my installations residing in the workspace for long periods of time, using the space's characteristics as temporary boundaries, forming an environment for the viewer to walk into as a spectator.
Video documentation is essential element in my work. With time, the self-documentation became video performance – a medium I employ to activate and animate my works, as I continue to stretch the productive boundaries of performative action. I also use animation, video and photography to temporarily create permanent modes for my work, allowing it to change and develop.
The work process in the videos is similar to that of the installations; they too are made like an assemblage, creating patchwork from filmed footage. This allows me to break down the narrative and create videos that lack it, dependent on objects and environments. Both the videos and the installations do not offer concrete narrative and serve as spaces for action, perhaps best defined as “action environments".
In recent collaboration with performance/dance choreographers, I am undergoing a new process which liberates the works from my artistic domain, to be used and interpreted by someone else. I intend to pursue the process of creating an environment for someone else to give it meaning and bring it to life.
